Lakeland Police Oversight: Fee Cap Could Crumble

The city of Lakeland will cap payment of lawyer fees for employees fighting release of a grand jury report at $225,000, City Attorney Tim McCausland told the Lakeland City Commission on June 14.

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The city of Lakeland will cap payment of lawyer fees for employees fighting release of a grand jury report at $225,000, City Attorney Tim McCausland told the Lakeland City Commission on June 14.

That's $75,000 each for three law firms: Gray-Robinson, Peterson and Myers, and Trombley & Hanes.They have been paid about $175,000, reported The Ledger's John Chambliss in an article June 15.Lawyer William Sheaffer of Orlando has been paid $12,853. He is no longer involved.Chief Judge William Bruce Smith of the 10th Judicial Circuit, based in Bartow, oversaw the grand jury report. The report is called a presentment.The grand jury was led by the 10th Judicial Circuit Office of the State Attorney. It convened shortly after a Jan. 6 Ledger article was published. In the article, Lakeland Police Chief Lisa Womack said the Police Department plays a "cat-and-mouse" game with news organizations requesting public records. She said it withholds records it considers sensitive.Grand jury hearings and presentments are secret. A presentment can be made public only by court order. Smith did the opposite. Rather than releasing the presentment, and redacting any inaccurate portion, he made the most extreme ruling possible. He sealed the presentment and then sealed his order sealing the presentment. Smith disappeared the report.Seen outside Smith's hearing room at the time he considered the case were Police Chief Lisa Womack, Mayor Gow Fields, City Manager Doug Thomas, McCausland, Police Department Public Safety Communications Specialist Ann Dinges and Police Department lawyer Roger Mallory. Fields says he is not a subject of the presentment.

BOTTOMLESS PITIn the June 14 meeting, Fields said the idea of limiting lawyer fees came from concerns expressed by residents about the amount of the legal fees paid by the city: "We want to make sure that the citizens and stakeholders of the community understand that we are concerned.""We are not a bottomless pit," Fields added, in reference to the June 9 editorial "Lakeland Police Public Records: Bottomless Pit of Legal Bills."Nonetheless, in one of the fee-limiting letters signed by lawyers for the three law firms, Gary Trombley of Trombley & Hanes inserted a clause that would allow additional fees: "In the event further efforts are required beyond those contemplated by this letter, the attorneys and the city administration have agreed to address those services by separate agreement."Thus, the bottomless pit of legal bills.The question of whether to continue paying for employees' legal costs in this grand jury case is an ethical dilemma: protecting city funds vs. protecting employees in city-related legal proceedings.During a June 3 City Commission meeting, Commissioner Edie Yates framed the city's obligation correctly: "You have to support your employees. If any employee is found to have done something wrong, we deal with them in a disciplinary way."Yates was speaking against a motion. It was made by Commissioner Howard Wiggs: "We stop paying legal fees for anyone who does not agree to release information with it being redacted properly by the judge."Wiggs said he hoped to end suppression of the grand jury presentment. The motion failed 5-2. Wiggs and Commissioner Justin Troller voted for it.

REVELATIONThe 2nd District Court of Appeal can solve the problem. The State Attorney's Office has appealed Smith's sealing of the presentment to the Lakeland court.The residents of Lakeland deserve a prompt ruling from the Appeal Court. It should release every appropriate finding in the grand jury's presentment. The residents need the information so they can press their elected city officials to ensure that Lakeland employees comply with the Florida Public Records Law — and keep the people's records open.A prompt Appeal Court ruling is especially important in this Lakeland election year. Four of the seven City Commission seats are up in the Nov. 5 election. The most prominent is the mayoral seat, for which Wiggs is challenging Fields.The grand jury's conclusion was made on the people's behalf. Voters need it in the fullest form possible so they can understand the city's actions and judge the candidates' positions on them.